Vail Resorts have just announced big plans for Whistler Blackcomb, the largest ski area in North America which it acquired in autumn last year to add to its collection of more than a dozen of North America's top resorts, plus Perisher in Australia.
The Company will invest CAD$66 million (USD$52 million) at Whistler with a big chunk of the money going on a new 10 passenger-cabins gondola, a new six seater chairlift and a new high speed quad chairlift – a type of lift for which Whistler already operates more than almost any resort in the world. All should be in place ahead of next winter.
The new 10-passenger gondola will replace the Wizard and Solar chairlifts and ascend from the base to the top of Blackcomb Mountain, terminating adjacent to the existing PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, which transports guests to and from Blackcomb and Whistler.
"Upon completion, the new gondola will offer guests a more comfortable and weather-protected experience in the first three-gondola connection in the world, enhancing the longest continuous lift system," a statement from Vail Resorts states.
The new gondola is expected to represent a 47-percent capacity increase and move 4,000 people per hour, the highest capacity in North America.
The second new lift sees an upgrade to the existing quad at Whistler's Family Ski Zone, an upper-mountain area with intermediate trails tailored to families, with the Emerald Express quad replaced with a new six-passenger high-speed lift, increasing guest uphill capacity by 29 percent.
Finally, the existing Catskinner triple-passenger lift will be replaced with a four-passenger, high-speed lift, which will increase uphill capacity by 56 percent and allow Whistler Blackcomb guests to enjoy faster access to Blackcomb Mountain's beginner and intermediate terrain.